Peter
Mansell talks to Andreas Claus Kistner, Roche’s global head of commercial
architecture, about how reps are using mobile technology for better value sales
call. With reduced access to key
customers and deep cuts in the armies of sales reps who used to toil for share
of voice in the pharmaceutical industry’s blockbuster era, sales-force
effectiveness needs to be at front of mind for any company looking to establish
or maintain a presence in today’s marketplace.
Strategies such as key
account management—a familiar component of sales platforms in more
consumer-oriented sectors but now answering pharma’s need for more meaningful
and informed relationships with stakeholders across the healthcare
spectrum—mean that keeping tabs on how those relationships actually play out
has never been more crucial. Rather than just throwing more sales reps into the
mix and hoping brand messages will stick, industry has to think hard about
where and how a leaner, more educated sales force is best deployed in a more
complex, multi-faceted operating environment.
The digital rep
One factor that can ease
this process significantly, and on a number of different levels, is the
evolution of digital technology. This is an opportunity Roche has seized: The
company is already reaping the benefits of iPad-enabled sales teams, both in
terms of prompt, relevant feedback from sales calls and its reps’ ability to
learn on the job.
As Andreas Claus Kistner,
the company’s global head of commercial architecture, explains, a key
consideration for Roche in adopting a digital sales platform was the need for
“real-time information” that would give the company insights into sales
coverage and the execution of its relationship-management strategy.
What the Roche sales force
used to do was record call information in their Filofaxes and update it on the
CRM (customer relationship management) system at the end of each week, or even
once a month in some cases.
Human nature being what it
is, this task was “considered admin” and a lot of details would go astray,
Claus Kistner notes. Computer notebooks were not a viable solution as they took
too long to start up and load the necessary information, within what is
typically a 10-minute window for a sales visit. At the same time, Roche was
finding that the different CRM systems it employed worldwide tended to get
“overloaded” with extraneous information.
The advent of the iPhone
and other smartphones was an opportunity to resolve both of these problems
using devices that could be switched on permanently and offered ease of entry
for sales-call information. They had to be aligned, though, with Roche’s
back-office systems, which “did not work that way,” Claus Kistner adds.
Mobile sales
platforms
None of the available
marketed solutions really fitted the bill, so Roche started from scratch,
asking itself what kind of information sales reps absolutely needed to capture.
The resulting “minimum input/maximum output” system was used to pilot the
company’s first mobile sales platform.
The goal was to have all
sales calls captured in three minutes and within three hours of the call taking
place. As Claus Kistner observes, three minutes to record a sales call is
“nothing” when set against the amount of time reps spend waiting for an
appointment. “They can even do forward planning, decide what the follow-up is,
what needs to be sent out, and all of that,” he comments.
Having achieved these
objectives, Roche was in a position to embrace the new iPad tablets, with their
improved capacity for information input and added functionality, particularly
in terms of reporting calls. “So you can do the preparation, you can do the
call, with e-detailing as well, and you can do the follow-up on the same
device.” The reps were only too happy to transition to an attractive new
device that made them feel ahead of the game, Claus Kistner says.
Roche did consider other
options, such as adding a keyboard to the iPad or using a similar device such
as the Blackberry Torch, but it found a keyboard was surplus to requirements.
Near-time data
With the iPads, sales teams
are now logging all of their calls on the same day, providing if not real-time
then at least “near-time” data. Roche is getting much better quality, more
accurate information on sales calls, and the reps save time not having to catch
up on administrative functions after work. They effectively have one device for
data input, CRM and e-detailing (e.g., downloading a relevant brochure on the
spot) as well as for keeping track of e-mails and e-learning on the go.
“Normally training is done
in classrooms or they have to do it at home on their PC,” Claus Kistner
comments. “Now they can do it while sitting in the waiting room. The knowledge
improvement and the knowledge management are much better."
The initial focus of
Roche’s program was to enhance sales force effectiveness. The next step is
leveraging the iPad to paperless interactions with doctors, other healthcare
professionals, key opinion leaders, and even researchers in clinical
trials.
As Claus Kistner stresses,
though, there “must be a pay-off” in all of this—not so much return on
investment as a “very IT-centric” conception of “return on knowledge transfer.”
That is not to say mobile sales technology is not susceptible to ROI analysis,
using criteria such as manageability, the lifetime of the devices or the cost
of maintaining them.
But what is particularly
important, Claus Kistner notes, is understanding the value to the business of
having near-time sales information that enables it to “make the right decision
at the right time.” With a paper system, the feedback from reps was not only
patchier but much more subjective. “Now we are able per detail to see what is
really used, what the response was from the doctor, and to optimize the
marketing approach,” he says.
Claus Kistner also
underlines the need to integrate front-end solutions such as mobile sales
devices and e-detailing with systems for CRM, marketing, e-learning or human
resources: “I think the holistic approach is the better way here.”